The state has suspended multiple permits at a Hartford market where an employee faces federal charges after a DEA investigation led to authorities allegedly finding hundreds of grams of fentanyl and a gun in the store, where officials allege illegal narcotic sales were taking place.
The state Department of Consumer Protection announced the suspensions at the Los Bandoleros market at 717 Albany Ave. in a news release issued Tuesday.
According to the department, a DCP agent conducting an investigation for a new liquor control permit at the market found in December that an employee, identified as Reymon Rojas, was arrested by the DEA on charges of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
The federal indictment and criminal complaint allege that the “criminal activity” was taking place at Los Bandoleros, according to the DCP. DEA agents allegedly made “numerous” controlled purchases of narcotics from Rojas, including some at the market, the department said.
When federal authorities carried out a search warrant at the market, they allegedly found about 770 grams of fentanyl, a 199 gram bag of suspected fentanyl, 1,500 yellow sleeves of suspected fentanyl, 67 grams of suspected narcotics cutting agents, a .45 caliber firearm with 14 rounds of live ammunition in the magazine, scales, Ziploc bags and narcotics processing materials covered in narcotics residue, officials with the DCP said.
The summary suspension issued by the department said the allegations show a “lack of integrity and dishonest behavior” and “present an ongoing threat to customers visiting the store,” among other violations.
“Furthermore, the allegations demonstrate that the premises is being operated in a manner that imperils public safety and requires better control of the premises by the owners,” DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli wrote in the summary suspension.
The permits suspensions bar the market from conducting lottery sales and from selling over-the-counter medications and vape or nicotine products.
A hearing will be scheduled to determine if the permits will be permanently revoked.
